


Evergreen

by simmerandcry



Series: Show Me, Don't Tell Me [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, Snowball Fights, christmas stockings wink, implied smut but nothing racy, just general christmas garbage fluff, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27985383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simmerandcry/pseuds/simmerandcry
Summary: There is always a lot of firsts in any relationship. First kiss, first time meeting the family, first big holiday together.A look into Bucky, Steve and Avery's first Christmas via a series of vignettes.--This relationship was established in the story 'Show Me, Don't Tell Me' but these scenes stand up on their own. Feel free to dive into the universe if you're interested in learning more about their relationship and how it came to be.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Show Me, Don't Tell Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049699
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	Evergreen

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiii. Thank you for clicking on this! I'll admit that Christmas certainly isn't my favourite time of year (I am no Scrooge but I fall into the 'Christmas Makes Me Sad' category) but writing these little snapshots of Steve, Bucky and Avery really helped put me in a better mood this year. 
> 
> If you aren't familiar with Avery or their relationship, that is okay! These can be read without knowing their history but I'll give a short summary of Avery: she vanished, came back, met the boys. She's kind, impulsive, playful and a terrible cook. If you take a liking to her, feel free to check out Show Me, Don't Tell Me :)
> 
> That's it, that's all. Enjoy :)
> 
> (This is currently only part one as I may be inspired to write a few more of these between now and the end of the month. If you have any ideas, feel free to pass them along!)

**mistletoe**

"Are you sure this is mistletoe?"

"Uhm, yes. It says right there on the label, sir."

Bucky pursed his lips together, glancing towards the small handwritten price tag and label on the shelf. He tilted his head and looked back towards the young flower shop employee.

"If we surprise her with mistletoe and it's not _actually_ mistletoe, we'll never hear the end of it."

"I don't think most people would know the difference, honestly."

Steve, who had been idling a few feet away, laughed. "She'll know. Trust me."

The young woman glanced between Bucky and Steve, quirking an eyebrow. "I only work here seasonally. If the tag says it's mistletoe, it's mistletoe."

When they returned to the apartment, Steve strategized the best placement for their acquisition. Right above the apartment door was too much of a giveaway but in the middle of the hallway between the bedroom and office space seemed like a safe bet.

Bucky was humming to himself, stirring a pot of homemade cider on the stove. It was only the first Friday of December but he had become surprisingly overcome by the spirit of Christmas. Maybe it was the light snowfall outside or the surprisingly cozy feeling of sharing a home with the people he loved or the fact that the warmth seemed to radiate off of Avery's smile when she talked about the holiday.

He raised up his hand and pushed his hair back, turning on a heel to gaze around the apartment. He didn't have any holiday decorations himself but somehow their apartment had been consumed by tiny moments of Christmas already. From the lights on the balcony to the wreath on the door, adding in a hanging bundle of mistletoe was fitting.

As the cider kept warm on the stove, Bucky fell onto the couch with Steve. There was a familiar sense of calm between them. Bucky stretched and extended his arm over Steve's shoulders, pulling him closely. Steve settled against him, taking a long breath as he stilled.

"I can close my eyes and go right back to the old apartment," Steve started quietly, a faint smile flickering on his face as the memories surfaced. "The _old_ apartment."

A hum of laughter rumbled within Bucky. "With your ma yelling at you to be careful with the glass ornaments?"

"But rewarding _you_ with a cup of tea for supervising me so well."

"We both know she was thanking me for taking care of you, punk." Bucky tightened his grip on Steve for a brief moment. "Still am doing that, you know. Considering you nearly walked in front of that cab earlier." Their day spent together had been welcome, though absent of the third member of their trio.

Avery had been adamant she spent her afternoon at campus, needing a clear headspace and no distractions while she finished off her research paper. She had been working really hard the past few weeks and while the end of the semester was on the horizon, it was clear she was stressed about completing her final assignments and studying for her exams.

Which is why Steve and Bucky wanted to surprise her with a _clean_ apartment, warm cider and a promise of a movie night on the couch.

Oh, and the mistletoe.

An awkward thumping knocking at the door brought Bucky up to his feet, followed by Steve trailing behind. On the other side, Avery stood with two pizza boxes in her hand and a backpack slung off one shoulder. She pushed her foot forward to kick the door again but Bucky threw it up, smirking. "Welcome home, doll."

Avery couldn't help but smile right back, as her annoyances and plights from her trek home melted away at the sight of her boyfriends. They looked especially cozy, in complementary henleys, relaxed joggers and even their slippers. As she walked in, Steve took the boxes from her hands and pressed a kiss against her cheek.

Bucky helped her out of her coat, tucking her backpack onto one of the kitchen chairs and wrapping his hands around her waist. A smattering of kisses landed on her lips, cheeks and towards her lips as she leaned into him. The sound of an old holiday record filled the air, coming from Bucky's record player in the living room.

Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald, crooning romantically together.

Avery paused the smalltalk and catching up on their days, demanding at least five minutes to change into her own comfy clothes and slippers. They encouraged her to do just that, following closely behind and lingering at the bedroom door while she rambled on about the stray cat that she saw outside a few blocks away.

When she emerged from the bedroom, her hair was thrown up into a messy bun and she was tucked into a shirt that did not belong to her. Her legs were wrapped in fleece lined leggings and a big pair of wool socks. She raised her eyebrows curiously at the two men crowding the hallway, casually looking up towards the ceiling. She followed their stare then looked at them both, head ping-ponging back and forth as they crowded her.

Her face was rigid, judgemental.

"What do you say, sweetheart?" Steve closed in their space first, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her in towards his chest.

"We thought it was a nice touch," Bucky added, shuffling up behind them and snaking his hands around her, too.

Avery sighed happily, holding in her laughter. She loved being in the middle of a supersoldier sandwich and she appreciated her boyfriends and their attention to detail _so much_.

"You know," Avery leaned back against Bucky but looked up at Steve, reaching her hand to scratch at his beard. "You can kiss me anywhere in the apartment, anytime. Added decor not necessary."

"But, it's tradition," Steve insisted, cheeks rosey from the warmth.

"And sort of fun," Bucky said quietly, leaning down to nip at her ear.

Avery sighed, leaning forward towards Steve. She hovered for a moment, lips inches away from his. "This is very cute. But that's holly, not mistletoe." She looked up, pointing a finger towards the greenery. "A dead giveaway - holly has red berries, mistletoe has white ones."

"Damnit."

Steve pressed a kiss against her anyway and Bucky did the same, lips moving across any inch of her exposed skin as she giggled loudly. "Better luck next year!"

* * *

**tree**

It was Avery's fault they didn't get a tree.

She had been the deciding factor in the debate.

Bucky insisted on the tree: "It's not Christmas without it."

While Steve was the voice of reason: "Not only will a tree not fit in here, but if we're going to be away the week of Christmas - it doesn't really seem necessary."

In the end, Avery saw Steve's perspective. She knew once they were in Boston at the family homestead, her dad would have _two_ trees on display. A nice intricate, colour themed one upstairs and the more traditional, vintage one in the basement.

But as December rolled on, she had to admit that not having a tree was weighing on her. It all started when silly signs of evergreen started to pop up everywhere.

Her program coordinator had a beautiful, sparkling Christmas tree brooch on her chest during their check in meeting.

Avery nearly toppled down the tree at her preferred coffee shop near campus.

And to top it all off, Bucky dragged her and Steve all the way up Manhattan to look at the gigantic Rockefeller tree display. That's when Avery couldn't hide her disappointment anymore.

As she stood, back pressed flat against Steve's chest with his arms wrapped around her, she let out a dramatic sigh. "I'm changing my vote. We need a tree."

Bucky chuckled from the right side, eyes glued to the large tree ahead of him. The twinkling of the lights reflected off his deep blues. Slowly he turned his head and locked eyes with Steve, who shared the same smirk.

"I just.. this is so silly. It's our first Christmas together and we need a tree. Every time we walk by the lot in Park Slope I just think about how all those trees need a home! And _our_ home is available."

"Steve said the apartment is gonna be too cramped," Bucky replied to her with a smile.

"Oh, don't make me the bad guy here. I was just stating a fact."

"It doesn't matter! We'll get a little one. Please. We've got to."

In record time, they made a trip to Target for decorations and managed to make it to the tree lot just before they closed. Avery carried the bags of decorations and snacks while Steve handled the tree, much to Bucky's delight. He enjoyed taking pictures of Steve bear hugging the huge green monster as he climbed up seven flights of stairs.

It turned out, even with getting a modest tree, their apartment was even smaller. Once it was set up in front of the window with a makeshift stand and a soft blanket acting as a skirt, it seemed to take up half the living room.

After they had it upright and properly breathing, Steve and Bucky both turned and looked at their girlfriend who was observing from the other side of the room. She hummed, tossing a handful of some seasonal trail mix into her mouth as she took in their work.

"Well? Is this what you were picturing?" Steve raised an eyebrow, tilting his head.

"It's.." Avery trailed off, bounding towards them with a grin. "It's perfect. I mean, incredibly all consuming and a bit of an odd shape. Definitely not traditional. Kind of reminds me of the three of us."

Bucky threw his arm over her shoulder, using his other hand to reach out and fluff one of the branches. "You're saying we're an odd shape?"

"Well, you do have an oddly shaped metal arm," Steve added in, wrapping them _both_ into his arms and roughing up Bucky's hair.

"Okay, whatever, punk." Bucky laughed and pulled away, grabbing Avery's hip. "Show him those ornaments we found."

Avery giggled and slipped away from their grasps, hurrying back to the pile of shopping bags. She pulled out a long box of Christmas baubles, all Captain America themed. More than one had Steve's face on them, even.

"Oh, come on. How did those make the cut but I wasn't allowed to get tinsel?" Steve groaned, falling onto the couch and fake pouting.

"Because tinsel is tacky, Steven." Avery bounced over and landed on the couch beside him, sitting on her knees. She leaned forward and kissed his nose. "And I love the idea of your cute face being all over the tree. C'mon, we decorate as a team."

Even though both Steve and Bucky could easily reach the top of the tree, Avery was adamant she would be the one to put the angel on top. So, Bucky held her tightly at the waist and helped her become just a few feet taller, extending her arm outward to secure the delicate angelic doll to the tree.

When Avery's feet touched the ground once more, Bucky's arms remained wrapped around her. A kiss was pressed to the top of her head, as all three of them stood and looked at their masterpiece. With the rest of the apartment lights dimmed, the glow of the tree consumed the space.

"You know, I'm glad we did this," Steve spoke quietly. His arm found a place across Bucky's shoulders, leaning his head against the soft fabric of his Henley.

"Me too. Reminds me of.." Bucky trailed off. He couldn't find the words. It looked just like something plucked from his memories. If he squinted, aside from the Steve themed ornaments, this exact tree might be crowding his family living room.

"Yeah, it does." Steve finished off his thought. His mind had gone to the same place. "Could use some tinsel, though."

Avery just groaned, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Next year, we'll have two trees and you can tinsel one of them as much as you want, okay? Let it goooooo."

All three of them cuddled on the couch afterwards, revelling in the soft lights of the tree. The plan had been to watch a movie but instead, they just sat and swapped stories about their holidays growing up. Bucky and Steve's were definitely different from Avery's but there was a common theme: family, togetherness. And wrapped in the warmth of the lights and overlapping bodies, as laughter bounded through the air, it was clear to all three of them they were content with their own little family.

* * *

**stockings**

Avery: _I picked up new stockings today  
_Avery: _Kasey helped me pick them out  
_Steve: _I thought you said your dad had Suzanne make us stockings?  
_Avery: _these ones are just for us. at home.  
_Bucky: _did you find a Captain America one like I asked?  
_Avery: _the stockings I picked up are not Captain America themed  
_Avery: _sorry ;)_

Avery was certainly in a jovial mood. Maybe it was the hot toddies she had at lunch with Kasey or the excitement of the season that put her in such a _mood_ \- whatever it was, she was waiting desperately for Bucky and Steve to get home.

The tiredness of the season seemed to creep up on all of them and usually after their long work days, they spent their energy on quick outings to the store to do Christmas shopping or attend some event or holiday display. Then, Steve would head to his place or they'd all crash on his bed or she would pass out on top of Bucky on the couch. Needless to say, that afternoon she was full of energy and very pent up.

She needed a release from at least one of her boys, though she'd accept only one of them if that's how the night would go.

When Bucky and Steve finally made it back home from their day at the compound, they found Avery bundled up on the couch. Her hair was down, face flushed. Most of her was hidden underneath a blanket but the tops of her shoulders revealed she was in just an oversized cable knit sweater. They each greeted her with a warm smile but stayed near the kitchen as they took off their jackets and boots.

They were still in the middle of some mission related conversation. Their delayed attention made Avery quickly pout. Clearly, this had played out differently in her mind.

"What did you want to do for dinner, doll?" Bucky called out to her as he leaned forward on the kitchen island.

Steve went to the fridge to grab a drink. "I was going to suggest maybe tacos from that place in Red Hook?"

"No, she said their salsa was too cilantro heavy," Bucky responded. They two men carried on, lazily discussing their food options.

Avery coughed loudly to pull their attention back towards her. "You didn't ask to see the stockings?"

Bucky narrowed his eyebrows for a moment then shrugged. "Oh, sorry, Ave."

Steve turned to look at her. "Did you hang them up?" His eyes darted around the room, to see if she had added any new decorations.

"No," Avery replied slowly, pulling the blanket off her lap and standing. "I put them on." She stood and revealed her outfit - thigh high sheer black stockings covered most of her lower half and on top she was draped in one of Steve's big sweaters.

And that was it.

Bucky's jaw dropped open and he quickly stood up straight, brushing his tongue over his lips. "Oh. Stockings, huh."

"They're very nice," Steve offered as he swallowed hard, taking in a long breath. "No what I was picturing."

"But sooo much better," Bucky finished off his thought, leaving his post in the kitchen and heading towards her. She giggled as he grabbed onto her, snaking his hands around her waist and bunching up her sweater. "Oh. And no underwear." As Bucky trailed off, his lips were soon attached to Avery's.

Her eyes shut right as she felt him against her skin, soft and warm and wet. He sucked against her pulse point, sending a shiver through her body as her legs quivered. Suddenly, she felt another pair of hands at her waist.

Steve's breath was hot behind her, finding any inch of her skin he could get as he kissed against her neck. His hands travelled down, calloused fingers moving delicately across her skin. He gripped her backside firmly, as if staking claim.

Avery gasped when Steve got on his knees behind her instead, leaving a trail of bites and kisses against her back and even on her cheeks. He ran his thumbs across the back of her thigh highs and their tiny little bows, pressing a kiss at the top of each thigh.

"Wrapped up like a present for us, sweetheart."

A quiet moan left Avery as Steve's hands moved to the heat between her legs. Bucky pulled at her sweater and yanked it up over her head, carelessly throwing it aside.

"You'll have to be more careful when the stockings come off," Avery giggled, gasping as Bucky picked her up, dipping his head to nip at her breasts as he carried her.

Steve was peeling off his clothes as he followed them to the bedroom. "Oh. No, no, those are staying on all night."

* * *

**cookies**

Bucky had mentioned, very briefly, that his ma used to make the best Christmas cookies. This of course led to a healthy debate about what the best seasonal treat was - though the trend was that homemade was the way to go.

Avery had never thought about trying her hand at any holiday treat recipes. But hearing both Steve and Bucky go on and on and on about Winnifred Barnes' famous sugar cookies, Avery decided she was up for the challenge.

Her research was thorough, quizzing Bucky on texture, taste, size and style. As if hearing his exact cookie eating experience would help her in the kitchen.

Her cousin Kasey nearly keeled over laughing when Avery announced her challenge. "Avery, come on. You can't even boil noodles. How are you going to manage a cookie? You realize you have to live up to his vague memory from like 80 years ago."

Still, Avery's determination and willingness to prove her cousin wrong encouraged her to keep going.

Steve, Bucky and Sam were all in Washington for the day. It was a snowy Friday afternoon and Avery had turned her small apartment kitchen into her own private bakery. Spread across the counter was half a dozen recipes she had found on Pinterest, all aptly featuring some title about how they were the best. On her countertop, she laid out everything she needed for cookie creation and decoration.

"You can do this," she cheered herself on, rolling up the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

The first batch burned. She didn't even get a chance to taste it.

Batch number two was weirdly sticky and Avery started to doubt the size of her measuring cups.

In the middle of round three, she sent a cute selfie to Steve and Bucky, as she held up a baking tray in her hand.

Avery: _I don't want to ruin the surprise but I'm baking today!  
_Steve: _uh oh.  
_Bucky: _that sounds dangerous  
_Avery: _wow. Rude. I can follow instructions.  
_Steve: _I'm sure whatever you're making will be great, Ave.  
_Bucky: _Steve is sucking up. Praying for you, doll._

The icing was easier to handle. As the cookies baked then cooled, Avery stirred together a few coloured bowls of icing. By the end of the afternoon, she had almost two dozen sugar cookies - iced and decorated like normal Christmas things. There was reindeer and baubles and Santa hats and Christmas trees.

Admittedly, they didn't look all that bad. She sent a photo of the final product to Kasey, with a smug message about her accomplishments. She received a skeptical reply containing a smartass quip about managing the bare minimum.

Avery was in the process of trying to recover the kitchen into a normal state of cleanliness when she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway. When Steve and Bucky walked in, tired from their day of travel and endlessly boring technical meetings, seeing Avery grinning over her successfully made cookies put them both at ease.

"Did any flour make it into the bowl, doll?" Steve asked with a smile, bringing his hand up to brush a white powdery streak off her cheek. Avery just sighed and pressed her lips onto his, then greeting Bucky the same before a smart comment came from him.

Avery bounced nervously as she presented her final product to them and encouraged a taste test. Bucky shrugged off his leather jacket, draping it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and reached for a tree shaped cookie.

"Well, they look right," Bucky started, nodding in approval.

"Very cute. Excellent decorating, sweetheart." Steve agreed, leaning forward on the kitchen island and swiping a round cookie.

"Yeah, yeah. But how do they taste?" Avery's face fell into a frown when she watched Bucky take a bite. His jaw moved up and down slowly, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

Steve bit most of his cookie, slowing down his chewing after a few seconds. "They're.." He paused to swallow, glancing over at Bucky. "The texture is right. But.."

"What?" Avery's eyes grew wide. "Are they that bad?"

Bucky nodded. "Yes."

Avery sighed.

"Buck, c'mon." Steve put the second half of his cookie back down on the tray. "Uhm. Honestly? They're a bit salty, Ave."

"Damnit." Avery's fist gently hit the counter, grabbing for the recipe she had followed. "Kasey lectured me about how baking is a science and.." She grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite, only to immediately spit it back into her hand. "Oh my god. A bit salty!? You're too kind. How did I mess this up?"

Avery laughed then slumped her shoulders. "I really wanted to recreate those cookies for you two. I'm sorry."

"Hey." Bucky moved around the island and pulled their girlfriend into a hug. "I appreciate all the effort you put in. Looks like you had fun, at least."

Avery relaxed into his arms and nodded. "I did. Would have been more fun with you helping though, I think."

"Well, then let's try again. Maybe if the three of us follow a recipe we'll perfect it."

Avery's eyes lit up again at the idea. "Then we'll all be covered in flour and sugar. And we'll _all_ need a shower."

Bucky nodded. "I do like the shower plan."

"You have to help with the cookies. No help, no cookies, no shower." Avery looked up towards Bucky with a stern glance. "It's only fair."

"Okay, okay. Fair is fair." He reached around her and picked up the recipe sheet. "Is this what you followed?"

"Mmhmm. But I doubled the recipe."

Steve came around and rested his head on Avery's, glancing down at the instructions, reading over her scribbled notes. "Wait. You put in a cup of salt?"

Bucky choked on a laugh. "Avery, I don't think any recipe ever calls for a cup of salt."

Avery groaned. "Okay well I'm not rushing out to open a bakery, okay? Maybe we should just skip straight to the shower part of the evening. We could just get cookies from Levain and split the difference?"

Bucky looked at her then towards Steve. They each grinned. Without warning, Avery was being picked up and thrown over Bucky's shoulder as he headed down the hall. Steve followed behind shortly after, not before tipping the entire tray of Avery's cookies into the trash can.

* * *

**snowballs**

Bucky, Sam and a few agents had been on a no-contact mission for five days. Avery was grateful such a thing hadn't happened in a long time but both her and Steve felt his absence right away. Everything sort of felt incomplete.

Of course, they had spent their week together enjoyably. Dinners in, Christmas shopping and movie nights had happened. But by the end of the week, they were looking forward to Bucky's return. So much so, Steve had planned for them to be at the compound for the jet's arrival.

It was a great plan in theory.

But in practical execution, they spoiled their own surprise and wound up getting to the compound nearly an hour after the jet. The sky was slowly turning into darkness and the snowfall had picked up. But despite that, Steve pulled his Jeep into the garage and they hurried to the common areas to find Bucky.

Bucky was sprawled out on a couch while Sam sat across from him, laptop open on the coffee table as they scanned over their mission reports. Dressed in just a plain black t-shirt and his tactical pants, he was desperate for a shower followed by burrowing into bed with the people he loved. Their week had been long and arduous but the mission had gone smoothly, at least. He stretched his arms out over the back of the couch and let out a long exhale, only to turn his head at the sound of quick footsteps down the hallway.

Much to his surprise, a blur of red wool sweater hurried into the space and he was being enveloped into an embrace. "Hiiii."

He grinned as Avery pulled back slightly then planted kisses along his face, ending with his lips. "Hey doll."

"Where's my warm welcome?" Sam muttered out with a laugh, leaning onto the arm of the chair.

"Hi Sam, glad you're home safe," Avery said sweetly, remaining in Bucky's lap.

"Welcome back," Steve said as he caught up to Avery, brushing some snow off the shoulder of his coat. "Hey Buck." Steve came to the back of the couch and leaned down, pressing a kiss on Bucky's forehead. "Missed you." He got a warm smile in return. "How did everything go?"

Sam nodded. "It went how it was supposed to. Agent Torres is in medical for some stitches but nothing crucial. We can discuss optics on Monday since you three clearly need some catch up time." He stood up and glanced at his watch. "And I have a date."

"Say hi to Kasey for us!" Avery called after Sam as he headed towards the locker rooms. Her attention returned to Bucky, who had his left arm cradled around her back. "We wanted to be here before you but Steve got distracted."

"The traffic was slow because of the snow," Steve jumped in, dismissing Avery. "Don't believe a word she says."

Avery rolled her eyes. "Steve's neighbour just got a new puppy and he spent 15 minutes laying on the lobby floor playing with him."

Bucky chuckled, throwing his head to the side to glance at his boyfriend. "Sounds about right."

Following a quick shower and returning to his more reasonable civilian clothes, Bucky was heading to meet Steve and Avery in the garage. He found the area empty, although one of the large bay doors were pulled open. Not far in the distance, he could hear Steve laughing.

Bucky followed the noise, sucking in a deep breath of the cool evening air. The snow continued to fall steadily and the sky glowed a cloudy grey above. It truly felt like winter, finally. It wasn't Bucky's favourite time of year - despite his warmth for the holiday traditions.

He was adverse to being cold.

About thirty feet away, he spotted Steve and Avery in the middle of what appeared to be a snowball fight. She was yelling for assistance, attempting to duck behind a bench near one of the illuminated pathways.

Funny how something so soft and innocent could send all of Bucky's cold feelings away.

"Bucky! Help. This isn't fair!" Avery called for him, waving a hand for him to join in.

"Before you lecture me, _she_ started it," Steve said, defending himself from Bucky's stare as he moved towards them.

Avery took the small moment of reprieve as an advantage, sending a snowball towards Steve as his head was turned. Of course, he turned and deflected it.

Damnit. She should have known starting a snowball fight with an enhanced soldier was a bad idea.

"What was your strategy here, doll?" Bucky asked with a smirk, adjusting his gloves as he walked between his two partners. "You were going in at a disadvantage, you know."

"Listen, it started very innocently. We walked out here to bask in the snowflakes then Steve was ahead of me and this snowball throwing monster just consumed me." Avery took a few steps towards Bucky, smiling very sweetly. "You know, together we can take him down."

Bucky just laughed, tilting his head as if considering his options.

"Or we just end this whole thing and head home?" Steve took one step closer too, although Bucky noticed one of his hands was tucked behind his back. Bucky leaned over to Avery and whispered in her ear.

She quickly dropped down and started to roll another snowball, turning to watch just as Steve launched the one he was hiding directly at Bucky's chest. A loud laughter escaped Steve as Bucky grumbled.

"You're gonna lose, punk." Bucky pointed at Steve, hurrying to reach down and gather snow in his hands. Together, Avery and Bucky did their best to target their boyfriend with a series of ill planned snowball attacks. Steve directed most of his power when he aimed at Bucky but wasn't always easy on Avery either.

Steve hit her right in the chest with a fairly close range shot and Avery collapsed to her knees, clutching at the impact. She winced in pain, holding a hand up to stop Steve from continuing.

Steve dropped the snowball in his hand and hurried to her side, dropping to his knees ahead of her. "Ave, I'm so sorry. I think we got carried away. Are you okay?"

Avery's lip quivered but she nodded. "I think so. That last one was really -

A fast approaching Bucky cut her off, tossing two heavy snowballs at Steve then hugging him into a tackle. The two rolled a few feet away, caught somewhere between laughter and irritation with the other. Eventually they stopped, lying flat on the ground and catching their breath.

Avery walked towards them, adjusting the beanie on her head and looking down over their matching grins. "Should we call a truce?"

"Was that all a tactic?" Steve raised an eyebrow, glancing from her to Bucky. "You cried wolf to distract me."

"And I appreciate you immediately coming to help me, Stevie," Avery replied with a smirk. She extended her hand to him, as a gesture of good faith. Steve grabbed it and pulled her down on top of him, her shrieks echoing through the clearing.

"Well played, sweetheart." Steve accepted a kiss from her and she flopped over to rest against Bucky's chest, too. "Now, maybe we should head home?"

Their night ended just as their truce did - bodies overlapped in a pile on the couch. Between sweaters and wool socks and pajama pants, they shared in their warmth and sipped hot cocoa and watched White Christmas.

Bucky fell asleep first, head resting in Avery's lap as she leaned against Steve. Avery ran her fingers through Bucky's hair as her own eyes got heavier and heavier. Steve sighed happily, closing his eyes as the movie credits rolled. As he stared down at the two people who occupied his heart, the incomplete feeling from earlier in the week was long gone.


End file.
